EVGA formally introduced their first motherboard
based on an Intel chipset today, the EVGA X58 SLI. For a long time launch partner of NVIDIA based
chipsets, this event was somewhat of a surprise when the rumors started
spreading a few months ago about the possibility of EVGA utilizing other
chipsets. Considering EVGA’s continuing
in-house development of boards based on their FTW moniker and a quickened pace
away from the cookie cutter reference designs, this development really did not
surprise us.

What did surprise us is their ability to take a completely
new chipset, proceed with a crash development program, and offer a motherboard
on the official launch date that is rock solid and very polished for a first
time effort. Of course it helps that
several engineers from the former EPoX group are on staff and two of the top
overclockers around are hand-tuning the product. However, it’s not perfect as we mentioned in
our early preview blog today, but several of the problems we discussed with
EVGA this weekend have already been addressed today with a new BIOS.

The Intel X58/ICH10R combination has been a known commodity
for several months and Intel has been providing significant engineering resources
to the motherboard suppliers in terms of information and technical support. Of course this helps to speed along a
development program from a hardware viewpoint but with everyone utilizing the
same chipset and basic hardware components the ability to differentiate a board
in a crowded market comes down to hardware/software features, support,
compatibility, and BIOS design. Does
EVGA meet this differentiation criterion?
We think so.

Our experiences to date with the EVGA X58 SLI
board indicate to us that EVGA has developed a very solid hardware platform
with a nice mix of features, a nifty
tuning utility, and a board that after the latest BIOS has offered excellent compatibility
with a wide range of peripherals and software.
EVGA is recognized for its excellent customer support and the BIOS design/tuning
is being headed up by Peter Tan, better known as Shamino in the overclocking
circles. Add in a limited lifetime
warranty for most locations and a step-up program for the next LGA1366 product and
you can see why this board might grab some market share away from other players
in the X58 market.

Of course, none of this really matters unless the
board performs well for users looking to cough up $329.99 for this
product. We are still running a variety
of benchmarks for the upcoming X58 roundup, but at this point the EVGA X58 SLI
is at or near the top of the class.
However, while we tend to get carried away at times with a frame per
second improvement or a half second difference in a benchmark, the real test
for these über enthusiast boards
generally center on overclocking and stability.
Neither of which the EVGA board has failed in up to this point and to be
honest, has excelled at for the most part.

Although you would never know it from the advertising, the board does support both CrossFire X and SLI operation. That said, let’s take a look around the board and review its features today.